Electric railway-track alarm



(No Model.)

T. TAYLOR.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY TRACK ALARM. No. 401,472. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

WITNESSES: //ZVEIVTOR:

eff u 7 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

THEODORE TAYLOR, OF CEDARVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY-TRACK ALARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,472, dated April16, 1889.

Application filed October 8, 1888. Serial No, 287,501. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE TAYLOR, of Cedarville, in the county ofidodoc and State of California, have invented a new and ImprovedElectric Railway- Track Alarm, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming apart thereof, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improvedelectric railway-track alarm, and Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation ofone of the hooks for fastening the conductors to the rails.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in bothviews.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and efficient alarmfor use in connection with railway-tracks for indicating when the trackis broken or displaced.

My invention consists in the combination, with the railway-rails, ofconductors connected with the rails by suitable fastenings insulated andarranged to form a complete electric circuit, including a battery and analarm device, all as hereinafter more fully described.

To the track-rails A A are attached the insulated conductors B B bymeans of the hookbolts 0. (Shown in detail in Fig. 2.) The conductors BB are made in sections, so that they may be easily applied to the rails,or re moved therefrom when necessary, and each conductor is providedwith an insulating coating, a, of rubber or other suitable insulatingmaterial. The conductors B B are connected together at a distantpoint,b. The conductor 13 is connected with one pole of a battery, D, by meansof the wire c. The conductor 13 is connected with the magnet d of thealarm apparatus by means of the wire 6, and the said magnet (Z is inelectrical communication with the remaining pole of the battery D.

The alarm apparatus consists of a drum, f, with a cord, g, wound aroundit and carrying a weight, h, a scape-wheel, 'i, pallets j, working inthe scape-wheel, a bell-hammer, it, operated by the pallets and adaptedto strike the bell Z. Upon the shaft of the drum f is secured aratchet-wheel, m,which ispreven ted fromturning by the pawl n. The pawlit carries the armature 0, and a spring, 19, connected with the pawl11-, tends to draw the said pawl out of engagement with theratchet-wheel m. So long as the circuit of the conductors B B is (30111-plete the electro-magnet dis energized, the armature 0 is drawn down,and the pawl 91 is kept in engagement with the ratchet m; but when theconductor B or B is broken the armature 0 is released and the spring 19pulls up the pawl 01-, allowing the weight h to fall and give the alarmthrough the action of the scape wheel, pallets, and bell-hammer.

By means of my improvement any break in the rail will be instantlydetected. Any means of generating an electric current may be employed,either battery or dynamo, as may be most convenient.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- The combination, with the railroad-rails A A, thealarm apparatus, and an electric generator, of the insulated electricconductor B B, extending alongside and between the rails, and the hooksG, which pass through said rails and secure the conductors to the sidethereof, all as shown and described.

BRADFORD W OODBRIDGE, A. C. KISTLER.

i II' I. II A

